Skip to content

Colin Rhinesmith

Associate Professor of Information Sciences, iSchool at Illinois

Menu
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Book
  • Research
  • Teaching
  • Publications
  • In The News
  • CV
  • Contact
Menu

Broadband

New Article in Journal of Information Policy

Posted on July 1, 2025July 1, 2025 by Colin Rhinesmith

Thrilled to have another journal article published this year, titled “Beyond Access and Infrastructure: Evaluating the Impact of Local Contexts on Digital Equity Strategies Through the Lens of the Digital Opportunities Compass.” The article was co-authored with my wonderful colleagues Dr. Pierrette Renée Dagg, Dr. Megan Knittel, and Joon Oh revised from an earlier version…

Read more

“The Ability to Pay for Broadband” Now Open Access

Posted on June 18, 2025June 18, 2025 by Colin Rhinesmith

I am thrilled to announce that our 2019 paper, titled “The Ability to Pay for Broadband” (Rhinesmith, Reisdorf, & Bishop) is now open open access in Communication Research and Practice. As I described in a previous post after the article was published, “In our recent paper, published in a special issue of Communications Research and…

Read more

#SaveIMLS: How the IMLS Shaped My Career and Why We Must Save The Agency

Posted on March 17, 2025March 18, 2025 by Colin Rhinesmith

On Friday night, the President released yet another Executive Order, titled “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy.” Section 1 of the order states that the following “elements” of our U.S. government are “unnecessary” and orders that the “head of each government entity” in the list below has 7 days to submit a report to…

Read more

Investing in the Human Infrastructure of Broadband

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Colin Rhinesmith

I’m excited to announce that our collaborative final report, co-authored with Dr. Revati Prasad (Benton Institute for Broadband & Society) along with significant contributions from Dr. Caroline Stratton (National Digital inclusion Alliance) and Larra Clark (American Library Association) on the Human Infrastructure of Broadband is out today! The report, titled “From the Ground Up: investing…

Read more

Defining Digital Equity Ecosystems

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Colin Rhinesmith

As I shared in a previous post last year, I am writing on book on Digital Equity Ecosystems that will be published by the University of California Press. As I have been working on the book, I realized that the definition that I’ve been using from my work with Susan Kennedy, published by the Benton…

Read more

New TechTank Podcast Episode on the Affordable Connectivity Program

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Colin Rhinesmith

It was an honor to join Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Senior Fellow, Director of the Center for Technology Innovation at The Brookings Institution, and the host of the Brookings Tech Tank podcast, alongside Dr. Fallon Wilson, Vice President of MMTC and Director of Black Churches for Digital Equity to discuss the upcoming end of the…

Read more

FCC Task Force to Prevent Digital Discrimination Listening Session Comments

Posted on September 30, 2023 by Colin Rhinesmith

The Federal Communications Commission’s Task Force to Prevent Digital Discrimination held a public listening session at Medger Evers College in Brooklyn yesterday. As part of the event, the FCC invited several speakers from a diverse group of organizations representing communities impacted by digital discrimination to provide their comments that could be included in the public…

Read more

New Working Paper: The Digital Opportunities Compass

Posted on February 25, 2023 by Colin Rhinesmith

As states across the U.S. develop their digital equity plans this year, as part of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s BEAD and DEA grant programs, a comprehensive and holistic framework is needed to evaluate the outcomes and impacts of these federal investments to advance digital equity in the years to come. In response, my…

Read more

Missing Pieces: How the FCC’s Broadband Map Misrepresents Public Libraries

Posted on February 10, 2023 by Colin Rhinesmith

Back in December, I responded to an open invitation from John Windhausen, Executive Director of the Schools, Health, & Libraries Broadband  (SHLB) Coalition, during the monthly SHLB Coalition member policy call, to take a closer look at how the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Broadband Map represents community anchor institutions (CAIs). I thought this would be a…

Read more

Joining The Quello Center at Michigan State University

Posted on October 28, 2022 by Colin Rhinesmith

I’m thrilled to announce that I am joining The Quello Center at Michigan State University as a Research Fellow. I have been a huge fan of The Quello Center’s work for many years, and I’ve also had the opportunity to work closely with several members of The Quello Center community. I look forward to supporting…

Read more
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next
I'm an associate professor and director of the Digital Equity Action Research (DEAR) Lab in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. My bio is here.
New Book! Coming June 2026
Blue water in estuary surrounded by greenery and a flock of white birds seen from above.
Invited Book Talks
  • February 18, 2026 - Quello Center, Michigan State University

Recent Posts

  • Book Blurbs for Digital Equity Ecosystems
  • Invited Book Talk at MSU Quello Center
  • Mobile Media & Communication Article Now Open Access
  • Book Listed in Spring UC Press Catalog
  • Elected to iSchools Board of Directors

Archives

  • February 2026
  • January 2026
  • December 2025
  • November 2025
  • September 2025
  • August 2025
  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • May 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • April 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • January 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • April 2015
  • February 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014

About Me

Dr. Colin Rhinesmith (he/they) is Associate Professor and Director of the Digital Equity Action Research (DEAR) Lab in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Creative Commons

This site and its contents are licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license

©2026 Colin Rhinesmith